There is available spectrum in the millimeter wave region. However, signal propagation characteristics particular to that region can present technical difficulties that may add costs to, or otherwise hinder its exploitation for certain communications. For example, users of present 3G and 4G cellular telephone devices can generally enter homes and other buildings without intolerable interruption of service. One reason is that 3G and 4G can operate at ultrahigh frequencies (UHF) that can propagate through most wall structures without unacceptable attenuation. Millimeter wave frequencies, in contrast, can be extremely directional and generally have a very limited building penetration.
These propagation characteristics of millimeter waves have been long known as potential problems that, for at least some applications, can render millimeter wave communication impractical in terms of cost and performance. Known techniques directed to solving or reducing such problems can have significant costs and shortcomings. For example, coding bits can be added to compensate for error rates arising from attenuation by buildings and other structures. However, for some applications, the necessary amount of coding bits can be unacceptably large.